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January 15
Events *588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah's reign. The siege lasts until July 18, 586 BC. * 69 - Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, but only survives for three months before committing suicide. *1559 - Elizabeth I of England is crowned in Westminster Abbey by Owen Oglethorpe, the Bishop of Carlisle, instead of the Archbishop of Canterbury. *1582 - Russia cedes Livonia and Estonia to Poland. *1759 - The British Museum opens. *1777 - American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present day Vermont) declares its independence. *1782 - Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris goes before the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage. *1822 - Greek War of Independence: Demetrius Ypsilanti is elected president of the legislative assembly. *1844 - University of Notre Dame receives its charter from Indiana. *1865 - American Civil War-Fort fisher North Carolina Falls to the Union, thus cutting off the last major seaport of the Confederacy *1870 - A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the United States Democratic Party with a donkey ("A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly). *1885 - Wilson Bentley takes the first photograph of a snowflake. *1892 - James Naismith publishes the rules for basketball. *1908 - Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the first Greek-letter organization by and for Black college women is established. *1919 - The Boston Molasses Disaster kills 21 people. * 1919 - Ignace Paderewski becomes Premier of Poland. * 1919 - Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, were tortured and murdered by the Freikorps. *1936 - The first building to be completely covered in glass is completed in Toledo (the building was for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company). *1943 - World War II: Japanese driven off Guadalcanal. * 1943 - World War II: Soviet counter-offensive at Voronezh begun. * 1943 - The world's largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated (Arlington). *1947 - The brutalized corpse of Elizabeth Short ("The Black Dahlia") is found in Leimert Park. *1951 - Ilse Koch, The "Bitch of Buchenwald", wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment in a court in West Germany. *1966 - First Military Coup in Nigeria, government of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is overthrown. *1967 - In the first ever Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10. *1969 - The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5. *1970 - After a 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria, Biafra surrenders. * 1970 - Muammar al-Qaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya. *1973 - Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President of the United States Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam. *1975 - Portugal grants independence to Angola. *1976 - Gerald Ford's would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison. *1977 - The Kälvesta air disaster kills 22 people, the worst air crash in Sweden's history. *1986 - The Living Seas opens at EPCOT Center in Walt Disney World, Florida. * 1986 - The HBO and Cinemax pay cable television services initiate scrambling of their national satellite feeds on Galaxy 1 with the Videocipher II system. *1990 - AT&T's long distance telephone network suffers a cascade switching failure. *1991 - The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm. *1992 - The international community recognizes the independence of Slovenia and Croatia from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. *1993 - Salvatore Riina, the Mafia boss known as 'The Beast', is arrested in Sicily after three decades as a fugitive *1999 - The Racak incident: 45 Albanians in the Kosovo village of Racak were killed by Yugoslav security forces. *2001 - Wikipedia, a free Wiki content encyclopedia, goes online. *2005 - An intense solar flare blasted X rays across the solar system. ESA's SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovered elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the moon. *2007 - Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court, are executed by hanging in Iraq. *2007 - Comet McNaught makes perigee after coming close to the sun. Births *1342 - Philip II (d. 1404) *1432 - King Afonso V of Portugal (d. 1481) *1481 - Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Japanese shogun (b. 1511) *1538 - Maeda Toshiie, Japanese general (d. 1599) *1622 - Molière, French playwright (d. 1673) *1671 - Abraham de la Pryme, English antiquarian (d. 1704) *1674 - Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French writer (d. 1762) *1716 - Philip Livingston, American founding father (d. 1778) *1747 - John Aikin, English doctor and writer (d. 1822) *1754 - Richard Martin, Irish founder of the SPCA (d. 1834) *1791 - Franz Grillparzer, Austrian writer (d. 1872) *1795 - Alexandr Griboyedov, Russian playwright (d. 1829) *1809 - Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French anarchist (d. 1865) *1812 - Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Norwegian writer (d. 1885) *1816 - Marie LaFarge, French murderer (d. 1852) *1824 - Marie Duplessis, French courtesan, inspiration for La Dame aux Camelias (d. 1847) *1841 - Frederick Stanley, Governor General of Canada (d. 1908) *1842 - Josef Breuer, Austrian psychologist (d. 1925) *1850 - Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (d. 1889) * 1850 - Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian mathematician (d. 1891) *1855 - Jacques Damala, Greek military officer and actor (d. 1889) *1863 - Wilhelm Marx, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1946) *1866 - Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1931) *1869 - Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish dramatist (d. 1907) *1872 - Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian writer (d. 1944) *1875 - Tom Burke, American runner (d. 1929) *1879 - Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author (d. 1961) *1882 - Princess Margaret of Connaught, Crown Princess of Sweden (d. 1920) *1885 - Huang Yuanyong, Chinese writer (d. 1915) * 1885 - Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician (d. 1973) * 1885 - Grover Lowdermilk, American baseball player (d. 1968) *1891 - Ray Chapman, American baseball player (d. 1920) * 1891 - Osip Mandelstam, Russian poet (d. 1938) *1892 - Rex Ingram, Irish director (d. 1950) *1893 - Ivor Novello, Welsh actor (d. 1951) *1895 - Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1973) *1897 - Xu Zhimo, Chinese poet (d. 1931) *1899 - Goodman Ace, American actor (d. 1982) *1901 - Luis Monti, Argentine-Italian footballer (d. 1983) *1906 - Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (d. 1975) *1908 - Edward Teller, Hungarian-born physicist (d. 2003) *1909 - Jean Bugatti, German-born automobile designer (d. 1939) * 1909 - Gene Krupa, American drummer (d. 1973) *1912 - Michel Debré, French politician (d. 1996) *1913 - Lloyd Bridges, American actor (d. 1998) * 1913 - Miriam Hyde, Australian composer (d. 2005) *1914 - Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian (d. 2003) *1918 - Gamal Abdal Nasser, President of Egypt (d. 1970) * 1918 - Édouard Gagnon, Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 2007) *1920 - John Cardinal O'Connor, American Catholic cardinal (d. 2000) * 1920 - Steve Gromek, American baseball player (d. 2002) *1923 - Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese politician * 1923 - Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet (d. 2006) *1926 - Maria Schell, Swiss actress (d. 2005) * 1926 - Florence Buchsbaum, theater director (d. 1996) *1927 - Phyllis Coates, American actress *1929 - Martin Luther King Jr, American civil rights leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1968) *1930 - Eddie Graham, American professional wrestler (d. 1985) *1933 - Ernest J. Gaines, American author *1937 - Margaret O'Brien, American actress *1938 - Chuni Goswami, Indian actor *1941 - Captain Beefheart, American singer *1945 - Vince Foster, American lawyer (d. 1993) *1947 - Andrea Martin, Canadian actress *1948 - Ronnie Van Zant, American singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1977) *1949 - Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican baseball player (d. 2001) * 1949 - Panos Mihalopoulos, Greek actor *1950 - Marius Trésor, French footballer *1951 - Charo, Spanish-born singer *1953 - Kent Hovind, American evangelist and Young Earth creationist * 1953 - Ta-Tanisha, American actress *1954 - Nikos Sarganis, Greek footballer *1955 - Nigel Benson, English author *1957 - Marty Lyons, American football player * 1957 - Mario Van Peebles, American actor * 1957 - Patrick Dixon, British entrepreneur *1958 - Boris Tadić, President of Serbia *1959 - Pete Trewavas, English bass guitarist (Marillion) *1960 - Aaron Jay Kernis, American composer * 1960 - Kelly Asbury, American director and actor *1961 - Yves P. Pelletier, Quebec comedian (Rock et Belles Oreilles), actor and film director *1962 - Creflo Dollar, American televangelist *1963 - Conrad Lant (aka Cronos), English musician *1964 - Osmo Tapio Räihälä, Finnish composer *1965 - Bernard Hopkins, American boxer * 1965 - Adam Jones, American musician (Tool) * 1965 - James Nesbitt, Northern Irish actor * 1965 - Maurizio Fondriest, Italian cyclist *1968 - Chad Lowe, American actor * 1968 - Iñaki Urdangarín, Spanish royalty *1969 - Delino DeShields, American baseball player *1970 - Shane McMahon, American professional wrestler *1971 - Teanna Kai, American porn star * 1971 - Max Beesley, English musician and actor * 1971 - Regina King, American actress *1972 - Kobe Tai, American porn star * 1972 - Claudia Winkleman, English television presenter * 1973 - Essam El-Hadary,Egyptian Football goal keeper *1974 - Ray King, American baseball player *1975 - Mary Pierce, French tennis player * 1975 - Edith Bowman, Scottish television and radio presenter * 1975 - Greg Strause, American artist *1976 - Corey Chavous, American football player *1978 - Franco Pellizotti, Italian cyclist * 1978 - Eddie Cahill, American actor *1979 - Drew Brees, American football player *1980 - Matt Holliday, American baseball player *1981 - El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese footballer * 1981 - Howie Day, American pop singer * 1981 - Sean Lamont, Scottish rugby union footballer *1982 - Benjamin Agosto, American skater * 1982 - Megan Quann, American swimmer * 1982 - Philip and Alexander, American-born princes of the Yugoslav Royal Family *1983 - Jermaine Pennant, English footballer * 1983 - Hugo Viana, Portuguese footballer *1984 - Victor Rasuk, American actor * 1984 - Megan Jendrick, American professional swimmer *1987 - Kelly Kelly, American WWE Diva * 1987 - David Knight, English footballer * 1987 - Michael Seater, Canadian actor Deaths * 69 - Galba, Roman Emperor (b. 3 BC) * 570 - Saint Ita, Irish nun (b. 475) * 936 - King Rudolph of France *1345 - Martin Zaccaria, Italo-Greek ruler *1595 - Murat III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1546) *1672 - John Cosin, English clergyman (b. 1594) *1683 - Philip Warwick, English writer and politician (b. 1609) *1781 - Marianne Victoria of Borbón, queen regent of Portugal (b. 1718) *1790 - John Landen, English BUTT mathematician (b. 1719) *1804 - Dru Drury, English entomologist (b. 1725) *1909 - Arnold Janssen SVD missionary (b. 1837) *1915 - Mary Slessor, Scottish missionary (b. 1848) *1919 - Karl Liebknecht, German politician (b. 1871) * 1919 - Rosa Luxemburg, German politician (b. 1870) *1945 - Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian mathematician (b. 1865) *1947 - Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia (b. 1924) *1955 - Yves Tanguy, French painter (b. 1900) *1964 - Jack Teagarden, American musician (b. 1905) *1967 - David Burliuk, Ukrainian artist (b. 1882) *1968 - Bill Masterton, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1938) *1973 - Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1901) * 1973 - Coleman Francis, American film director (b. 1919) *1983 - Meyer Lansky, Russian-born gangster (b. 1902) *1987 - Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904) *1988 - Seán MacBride, Irish statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1904) *1990 - Gordon Jackson, Scottish actor (b. 1923) *1992 - Dee Murray, English bassist (b. 1946) *1993 - Sammy Cahn, American songwriter (b. 1913) *1994 - Harry Nilsson, American musician (b. 1941) *1996 - Les Baxter, American musician and composer (b. 1922) * 1996 - Minnesota Fats, American Billiards player (b. 1913) * 1996 - Paramount Chief Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (b. 1938) *1998 - Junior Wells, American musician (b. 1934) *2000 - Željko Ražnatović, aka Arkan, Serbian paramilitary leader (b. 1952) * 2000 - Fran Ryan, American actress (b. 1916) * 2000 - Georges-Henri Lévesque, French Canadian Dominican priest and sociologist (b. 1903) *2001 - Ted Mann, American screenwriter (b. 1916) *2002 - Steve Gromek, American baseball player (b. 1920) *2003 - Doris Fisher, American singer and songwriter (b. 1915) *2005 - Deem Bristow, American video game voice actor (b. 1947) * 2005 - Victoria de los Angeles, Catalan soprano (b. 1923) * 2005 - Walter Ernsting, German author (b. 1920) * 2005 - Elizabeth Janeway, American author (b. 1913) * 2005 - Dan Lee, Canadian animator (b. 1969) * 2005 - Ruth Warrick, American actress (b. 1915) *2006 - Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1926) *2007 - Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein (b. 1951) (executed) * 2007 - Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Iraqi Revolutionary Court (b. 1945) (executed) * 2007 - Bo Yibo, Chinese politician (b. 1908) * 2007 - David Vanole, American soccer player (b. 1963) * 2007 - James Hillier, Canadian inventor of electron microscope (b. 1915) Holidays and observances * Roman Empire - Second day of the Carmentalia in honor of Carmenta. * Malawi - John Chilembwe Day. * North Korea - Korean Alphabet Day. * United States - Traditionally, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. * Kerala in India - Makaravilakku or Makara Sankranthy at Sabarimala. * Jallikattu in South India. * Pongal in Tamil Nadu (2007). * Nigerian Armed Forces Rememberance day Religious observances *Abeluzius in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Holweck, F. G. A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924. * Roman Catholic Church - Saint Ita, virgin, died January 15, 570.Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0-140-51312-4. * Macarius of Egypt * Paul the Hermit * January 15. References External links * BBC: On This Day * * On this day in Canada ---- Category:January